They now say that they have Phillips contained in a wooded area. This is about 20-25 miles from my house. I just hope it is coming to an end. They have had area schools on lock down and have cancelled all after school events this weekend.
www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/08/ny.manhunt.ap/index.html
CARROLL, New York (AP) -- Police fired at a man believed to be fugitive Ralph "Buck" Phillips early Friday after the fleeing suspect aimed a handgun at an officer, sparking a massive search near the Pennsylvania state line, authorities said.
New York State Police Superintendent Wayne Bennett said Phillips was not in custody Friday afternoon. It could not be determined if Phillips was hit by the gunfire; Bennett said there was no sign of blood at the scene.
Phillips, a career thief who broke out of an Erie County jail in April, is suspected of killing a state trooper and wounding two others.
"We believe we have him contained," Bennett said, but added, "I won't say that I'm completely convinced that this is going to come to the conclusion we want." (Watch police describe suspect's narrow escape -- 3:23)
Bennett said a police dog caught the trail of an individual in the woods about 9 a.m. When the officer came up behind the man, he turned and pointed a pistol at the officer. The officer fired several rounds and the individual fled into another wooded area.
"We have every reason to believe it's Ralph Bucky Phillips," Bennett said.
Bennett said police believe they have Phillips contained in an area straddling the state line near Carroll, New York, about 65 miles south of Buffalo.
"There wasn't really any time to put a plan into effect," Bennett said when asked if police thought Phillips managed to escape. "He hasn't had any time to make any contact with a safe house." (Watch how suspect flees into woods -- 3:45)
"I think he's made a mistake," Bennett said. "I hope it's a big enough one and we can capitalize on it."
Friday's frantic search started shortly before 2 a.m. in Pennsylvania when a police officer tried to pull over a stolen car. After a short chase, the car crashed and the driver fled into the woods.
About half an hour later, Phillips stole a second car and drove back into New York, where troopers located him and launched a second chase.
Phillips bailed out of the moving car and ducked into woods, once again cutting into Pennsylvania. Police dogs tracked his scent for several hours until 9:10 a.m. when he was spotted by two troopers, Bennett said.
As troopers approached, Phillips wheeled around with a pistol in his hand but did not fire. One of the troopers fired an undisclosed number of shots as Phillips disappeared into the heavily wooded terrain.
Bennett said Phillips still had the shoulder-length brown hair that he wore in a widely distributed recent photo.
"Obviously we have a very dangerous and desperate individual on the loose here," he said.
Authorities swarmed an area golf course Friday morning, landing on the course in a helicopter about 9:30 a.m. and using a loud speaker to clear out about 100 golfers.
Marge Bortz, owner of Cable Hollow Golf Course in Russell, Pa., eight miles from Carroll, N.Y., told The Associated Press that police informed her Phillips is in the woods around the golf course.
The course was closed and there were 10 people locked in the clubhouse, including Bortz's family and three employees.
"My son said it was like a platoon of policemen who went in the woods in camo," she said. "There's police all over the place."
The search is in a hilly, heavily wooded area cut through by creeks and dotted with seasonal camps and hunting stands.
A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press that items in a backpack recovered from one of the stolen vehicles led police to believe Phillips was back on the prowl.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about the case, said Phillips apparently stole a car out of a driveway in Carroll. The owner heard it and called police, sparking the search.
Phillips is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list, the federal marshals' 15 Most Wanted list and was to be featured on "America's Most Wanted."
Phillips, 44, became the subject of a massive search after allegedly shooting a state trooper near Elmira in June.
Authorities believe Phillips has been helped by numerous people since his escape, but has also broken into unoccupied hunting cabins in New York and Pennsylvania and stolen about 15 cars to remain ahead of police, authorities said. (Watch to see the half-way house where Philips lived and how he escaped -- 2:26)
Phillips may have spent 11 days hiding out in a western Pennsylvania home last month, slipping back into New York at least once to steal 41 guns from a gun shop, authorities said.
As New York lawmen searched for Phillips in the rural wooded areas of the southwestern tip of the state, he was staying -- at least some of the time -- at the home of Todd Allen Nelson in Ludlow, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania state police said.
Nelson, 30, was charged August 31 with hindering the apprehension of Phillips after Pennsylvania troopers recovered 35 guns believed stolen from an Ellington, New York, gun shop at his home.
Phillips is the main suspect in the gun shop break-in.
Investigators are looking into whether one of the stolen guns was used in the shootings of two New York state troopers on August 31 as they staked out the home of Phillips' former girlfriend.
Trooper Joseph Longobardo died Sunday; Donald Baker Jr. has been in critical condition since the shooting. Both troopers were struck with bullets from a high-powered rifle.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
*UPDATE* on AMW Fugituve Ralph Bucky Phillips
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